The Book Thread 2023

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes

Her mother's disappearance blights a young girl's life for decades until she starts to come to terms with her loss. Not really my cup of tea but again, many others seem to enjoy it.

[Spearthrower]

I know it's not strictly in accordance with the premise of the thread, but here be the bibliophiles.

My brother came to visit me and brought me a box of my books from the attic back home. I haven't seen these books for 20-30 years. Some of them are from GCSE, A-Levels, and from university. What a strange collection it turned out to be, with books like More's Utopia, numerous detailed histories of the renaissance and reformation period, my university text book for Ancient Greek (Athenaze), Carlos Castaneda, various books on Atlantis, Tolkien's bestiary, the Magna Carta, lots of metaphysical poetry, Seamus Heaney, Nichols' Fat Black Women's Poems, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit... and so many more. So exciting as I both remember the books, and also can't remember them to any level of detail, meaning I get to read them all again! Glorious!

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes
52. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

The Republic of Ireland falls to far-right totalitarianism; enemies of the regime are tortured and killed; families flee their homes and their country. Told from one woman's viewpoint in prose at times exquisite, this novel forces the reader to confront the dystopian reality for so many people today. I'm expecting it to be on the short list.

There's a good and concise review here.

[don't get me started]

Congrats on the 50 Blip.

Not sure where I am this year. Haven't been keeping count and have been focusing on some books intensively, reading and re-reading chunks and chapters, scouring edited books for relevant chapters for my research...A lot of reference reading and not much cover to cover stuff for 2023. I'm thinking I might have to read a novel or two, just for the sake of the variety

This is what I'm reading right now.



Interesting stuff. There is no chapter on the English system, but from the outside looking in, English is definitely among the more exotic and complex languages when it comes to negation.

[Blip]

Thank you, don't get me started.

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes
52. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
53. A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

Set in the author's homeland, this is a really rather forceful exposé of misogyny, patriarchy, poverty, crime and political corruption through two interlinked protagonists. Another one for my personal shortlist.

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes
52. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
53. A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
54. All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

The central character of this novel is a woman whose 16-year-old daughter leaves home, which wouldn't normally interest me all that much, but because the former and the author are both autistic, the insight into neurodivergence lifts the work above the ordinary.

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes
52. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
53. A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
54. All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
55. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

Adolescent girl takes up squash, at her father's behest, after the death of her mother.

[Blip]

Anyways, that's enough of a derail... sorry mods.

It's interesting though; I'll put it all in a new thread later, unless there's an existing one that would suit better.

!	GENERAL MODNOTE Discussion on negation and agreement now here.

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes
52. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
53. A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
54. All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
55. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
56. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

With only one of the long list to read, there are two on the just-announced short list that I would not have chosen; Old God's Time and this one would have made my cut instead. Based on Somerset Maugham's The Letter, this is about stories, truth and lies; colonialism and hypocrisy. I think I spotted one or two anachronisms, but nonetheless I enjoyed this.

[NamelessFaceless]

1. The Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder
2. Basil - Wilkie Collins
3. The Eyes Have It and Other Stories - Philip K. Dick (audiobook)
4. The Colonel’s Dream - Charles W. Chestnutt (audiobook)
5. Black No More - George S. Schuyler (audiobook)
6. The Trees - Percival Everett
7. Lady Chatterley’s Lover - D.H. Lawrence- (audiobook) (previously read)
8. My People the Sioux - Luther Standing Bear (audiobook)
9. Poirot Investigates - Agatha Christie (audiobook)
10. The Life of Josiah Henson - Josiah Henson (audiobook)
11. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Anita Loos (audiobook)
12. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf (audiobook)
13. The Blacker the Berry - Wallace Thurman (audiobook)
14. Infants of the Spring - Wallace Thurman (audiobook)
15. Zora Neale Hurston: Collected Early Works - Zora Neale Hurston (audiobook)
16. Rachel:A Play in Three Acts - Angelina Weld Grimke (audiobook)
17. The True Story of Ah Q - Lu Xun (audiobook)
18. The Pale Blue Eye - Louis Bayard
19. Tropic Death - Eric Walrond (audiobook)
20. The Homesteader - Oscar Micheaux (audiobook)
21. Deliverance - James Dickey
22. Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims - Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins (audiobook)
23. Autobiography of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak, or Blackhawk: Dictated by Himself - Blackhawk and J. Gerald Kennedy (audiobook)
24. Wynema: A Child of the Forest - Sophia Alice Callahan (audiobook)
25. The Man From the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery - Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James
26. The Home and the World - Rabindranath Tagore (audiobook)
27. The Soul of the Indian - Charles Alexander Eastman (audiobook)
28. Women Talking - Miriam Toews
29. Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself - Henry Box Brown (audiobook)
30. Flight - Walter Francis White (audiobook)
31. The World’s Religions - Huston Smith
32. Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne (audiobook)
33. The Life of John Thompson, A Fugitive Slave - John Thompson (audiobook)
34. The Dean's December - Saul Bellow
35. Clotel: or, The President’s Daughter - William Wells Brown (audiobook)
36. Quicksand - Nella Larsen (audiobook)
37. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI - David Grann
38. The Influencer - Joyce Maynard (audiobook)
39. Southern Horrors &The Red Record - Ida B. Wells (audiobook)
40. Passing - Nella Larsen (audiobook)
41. All My Puny Sorrows - Miriam Toews
42. America is in the Heart - Carlos Bulosan (audiobook)
43. The Squatter and the Don - Maria Ampara Ruiz de Burton (audiobook)
44. The Girls - Emma Cline
45. Hangsaman - Shirley Jackson
46. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - Dee Brown
47. The Lost City of Z - David Grann
48. Fight Night - Miriam Toews
49. Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
50. The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han

Heh. Hit my 50.

Been gardening lately, so the next few are audiobooks;
51. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African - Olaudah Equiano
52. Obsession Collection (1. Murder at the Royal Ruby, 2. The Mosquito, 3. People Like Them, 4. The Heart of a Mother, 5. Slot Machine Fever Dreams, 6. Just a Girl) - Various Authors
53. We Could Be Heroes Collection (1. Pigeon Tony's Last Stand, 2. Unknown Caller, 3. Trouble, 4. These Cold Strangers, 5. Kill Night) - Various Authors
54. Creature Feature Collection (1. The Pram, 2. Ankle Snatcher, 3. It Waits in the Woods, 4. In Bloom, 5. Best of Luck, 6. Big Bad) - Various Authors

[Animavore]

I'm trying to read The Physics of Climate Change by Lawrence Krauss but it's making my head hurt.

I think I'm happy enough to just trust the experts on this one. The in English account makes enough sense to me and their story has been straight since '88. Whereas deniers can't even decide if it's not happening at all, it's happening but it's not caused by humans (but further can't decide if it's the Sun, or volcanic activity, or some natural cycke), it's being caused by humans but it's not as bad as we're being told, or it's happening but there's nothing we can do about it.

[don't get me started]

Congrats on your 50 NamelessFaceless...always inspiring to see.

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes
52. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
53. A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
54. All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
55. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
56. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
57. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

A slow start but then this gets into gear and is a good read. I can see why it's on the short list.

Curiously, the two novels on the short list that I wouldn't have included myself are by the two female authors, and I'd have had Old God's Time and The House of Doors instead. As for the winner, I'll go for This Other Eden or Prophet Song, but the full list is here, and there's plenty on there that's worth reading.

[NamelessFaceless]

1. The Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder
2. Basil - Wilkie Collins
3. The Eyes Have It and Other Stories - Philip K. Dick (audiobook)
4. The Colonel’s Dream - Charles W. Chestnutt (audiobook)
5. Black No More - George S. Schuyler (audiobook)
6. The Trees - Percival Everett
7. Lady Chatterley’s Lover - D.H. Lawrence- (audiobook) (previously read)
8. My People the Sioux - Luther Standing Bear (audiobook)
9. Poirot Investigates - Agatha Christie (audiobook)
10. The Life of Josiah Henson - Josiah Henson (audiobook)
11. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Anita Loos (audiobook)
12. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf (audiobook)
13. The Blacker the Berry - Wallace Thurman (audiobook)
14. Infants of the Spring - Wallace Thurman (audiobook)
15. Zora Neale Hurston: Collected Early Works - Zora Neale Hurston (audiobook)
16. Rachel:A Play in Three Acts - Angelina Weld Grimke (audiobook)
17. The True Story of Ah Q - Lu Xun (audiobook)
18. The Pale Blue Eye - Louis Bayard
19. Tropic Death - Eric Walrond (audiobook)
20. The Homesteader - Oscar Micheaux (audiobook)
21. Deliverance - James Dickey
22. Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims - Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins (audiobook)
23. Autobiography of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak, or Blackhawk: Dictated by Himself - Blackhawk and J. Gerald Kennedy (audiobook)
24. Wynema: A Child of the Forest - Sophia Alice Callahan (audiobook)
25. The Man From the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery - Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James
26. The Home and the World - Rabindranath Tagore (audiobook)
27. The Soul of the Indian - Charles Alexander Eastman (audiobook)
28. Women Talking - Miriam Toews
29. Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself - Henry Box Brown (audiobook)
30. Flight - Walter Francis White (audiobook)
31. The World’s Religions - Huston Smith
32. Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne (audiobook)
33. The Life of John Thompson, A Fugitive Slave - John Thompson (audiobook)
34. The Dean's December - Saul Bellow
35. Clotel: or, The President’s Daughter - William Wells Brown (audiobook)
36. Quicksand - Nella Larsen (audiobook)
37. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI - David Grann
38. The Influencer - Joyce Maynard (audiobook)
39. Southern Horrors &The Red Record - Ida B. Wells (audiobook)
40. Passing - Nella Larsen (audiobook)
41. All My Puny Sorrows - Miriam Toews
42. America is in the Heart - Carlos Bulosan (audiobook)
43. The Squatter and the Don - Maria Ampara Ruiz de Burton (audiobook)
44. The Girls - Emma Cline
45. Hangsaman - Shirley Jackson
46. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - Dee Brown
47. The Lost City of Z - David Grann
48. Fight Night - Miriam Toews
49. Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
50. The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han
51. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African - Olaudah Equiano
52. Obsession Collection (1. Murder at the Royal Ruby, 2. The Mosquito, 3. People Like Them, 4. The Heart of a Mother, 5. Slot Machine Fever Dreams, 6. Just a Girl) - Various Authors
53. We Could Be Heroes Collection (1. Pigeon Tony's Last Stand, 2. Unknown Caller, 3. Trouble, 4. These Cold Strangers, 5. Kill Night) - Various Authors
54. Creature Feature Collection (1. The Pram, 2. Ankle Snatcher, 3. It Waits in the Woods, 4. In Bloom, 5. Best of Luck, 6. Big Bad) - Various Authors
55. The Well Beloved - Thomas Hardy

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes
52. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
53. A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
54. All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
55. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
56. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
57. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
58. The Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks

Although not without its flaws*, this is an absorbing and at times thought-provoking read about the evolution of consciousness.

*As is often the case, there's a good review in The Guardian.

[UncertainSloth]

jeez, ive got some catching up to do! started the year well but really tailed off in recent months

congrats to those who have hit 50 already!

[UncertainSloth]

1. the reading list - sara nisha adams - 8/10
2. fairy tale - stephen king - 8/10
3. fellstones - ramsey campbell - 6/10
4. vanishing of margaret small - neil alexander - 8/10
5. family at no.12 - anita waller - 7/10
6. hob - david barnett - 9/10
7. witch - iain rob wright - adequate/10
8. the old ways - robert mcfarlane - 8/10
9. mr penumbras 24 hour bookstore - robin sloan - 8/10
10. blacklands - belinda bauer - 7/10
11. the widow's house - carol goodman - 7/10
12. brodmaw bay - fg cottam - 8/10

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes
52. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
53. A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
54. All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
55. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
56. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
57. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
58. The Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks
59. Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford

I'm an admirer of Spufford's work and this, his latest, didn't disappoint. If you like a spot of noir, or are a fan of alternative histories, this combines the two to great effect.

jeez, ive got some catching up to do! started the year well but really tailed off in recent months

congrats to those who have hit 50 already!

Thank you, and good to see you here again, UncertainSloth.

[Blip]

First fifty here.

51. Pearl by Siân Hughes
52. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
53. A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
54. All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
55. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
56. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
57. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
58. The Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks
59. Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
60. The Fall of Boris Johnson by Sebastian Payne

The clue is in the name. I followed events pretty closely at the time, but if you didn't, and you're interested, this sets them out clearly.